KEENE — A 36-year-old ice climber was seriously injured along state Route 73 on Tuesday morning, initiating a complex rescue effort by the state Department of Conservation and local first responders.

Seven DEC forest rangers responded to the rescue call from the climber’s climbing partner at 9:20 a.m. at the Pitchoff Mountain ice climbing area. They reached the climber by 10:15 a.m. With the assistance of the Keene Volunteer Fire Department and the Keene Valley Fire Department, the rangers set up a rope rescue system and lowered the climber “several hundred feet” to a waiting ambulance, according to DEC spokesperson Jeff Wernick. DEC and first responders declined to name the climber.

The climber was flown by a LifeNet helicopter to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont at 10:28 a.m. His current condition is unclear; Wernick did not have any details on the climber’s injuries.

During Tuesday’s rescue, DEC rangers set up a low-angle rope rescue system, which refers to a rescue operation on a terrain with a slope of 35 degrees or less. This means that the rescue was not vertical, which would require a high-angle rope rescue system.

Regardless of if a rescue is low- or high-angle, “many of the same techniques are at play,” said Adirondack Mountain Rescue Team Public Information Officer John Bulmer. The rescuers rig and anchor a haul system with “progress capture” in mind. Progress capture means that, should every rescuer drop the rope at the same time, the rope would stay in place and the person being rescued would not move.

There are several possible approaches first responders can take for an ice climbing rescue, according to Bulmer.

“Without knowing the particulars of this, the person probably fell,” Bulmer said. “(First responders) will either rescue from the top or rescue from the bottom. … They’ll set it up for rescue loads, which are very heavy, so you could in effect haul many thousands of pounds on the load.”

The Adirondack Mountain Rescue Team did not participate in this particular rescue, but has had experience with similar rescues in the past.

“The rescuer safety is the primary concern,” Bulmer said. “They never want to create an incident inside of an incident.”

Once rescuers reached the climber, they would have put him in a litter, which can also be referred to as a rescue basket. A litter is like a stretcher with sides. It’s typically used during climbing rescues, as it keeps the climber secure against the forces of gravity as they’re lowered to the ground. According to Bulmer, in some cases, a helicopter may be used to retrieve the climber rather than lowering them to the ground. It depends on the terrain, the angle of the rescue and other situational factors.

Bulmer said that ice rescues are “very tricky,” but they do not have higher rates of incidence than other types of rescues in the area. He added that, as a climber, ice climbing is no more unsafe than other types of climbing.

“I’ve been up on those climbs myself, so I can see how things can go wrong,” he said. “I think the general public thinks ice climbing is risky, but honestly, putting an anchor in ice, if it’s done properly, is super safe. There has to be something that goes wrong to create something like that.”

Representatives from the Keene Volunteer Fire Department could not be reached before deadline on Wednesday. The Keene Valley Hose and Ladder deferred to the Keene Volunteer Fire Department on the rescue, as the rescue was in the latter department’s fire district. State Police did not respond before deadline on Wednesday.